Extension School recognizes outstanding grads

Each Commencement, the Harvard Extension School recognizes the notable accomplishments of its top graduates and outstanding faculty with numerous awards and prizes. Recipients may demonstrate outstanding initiative, character, and academic achievement; show dedication to the arts or public service; or, in regard to faculty, be lauded by their students for excellence in teaching.

One honor, the Dean’s Prize for Outstanding Master of Liberal Arts Thesis, is awarded to a student whose graduate thesis embodies the highest level of imaginative scholarship. Through the years, A.L.M. thesis advisers from across the University (all of whom must have Harvard teaching appointments) have been singularly impressed with the work produced by their Extension School advisees: “a remarkably sophisticated, intelligent, informed, and promising piece of scholarship”; and “a wholly original, impeccably researched and argued thesis”; and, on one biotechnology student, “I expect the body of work he has produced will be a significant contribution to the field and will be published.”

In addition to the Dean’s Prize for Outstanding Thesis, there are four major academic prizes — the Phelps, Crite, Langlois, and Small prizes — as well as the Bok, Aurelio, Yang, and Wood prizes. Faculty are awarded the Bonanno, Conway, Fussa, and Shattuck awards.

View a list of 2011 Harvard Extension School prize and award recipients.

— Linda Cross